February 2014 Mommies :-)

Hi ladies!!

Wow so nice to see and read all the updates. All your girlies are sooo cute!! Can't believe how time flies!

Charlotte turned 6 months last Friday and is doing well, catching up nicely for a preemie! She is almost sitting, had a check up with the Paed today and she said I must try avoid using the Bumbo too much (have been using it as her feeding chair instead of a high chair) as it's making her lazy to try sit on her own. So we will be off to get the high chair now!
Char started solids a month or so ago, I tried starting with rice cereal but she wasnt really interested so moved on to veg. She has had Avo, Butternut, Sweet Potato, Carrots, Green beans, Sweetcorn and Gem Squash. Fruits she has mostly had pear, apple and prune. I've only been giving her two solids a day, morning and evening but want to start cereal in the morning and move fruit to lunch. I have Mabele so will see if she likes that, have only tried it once but it was too lumpy and I was in a rush so was a disaster! Will try again when we are both chilled out and have time!

As far as sleeping goes - Charlotte has been in her own room since 2 months old (once I was home from hospital actually, so not even 2 months) and does just fine! I had family visiting last month for a few weeks so had her in a camper cot in our room and it totally messed her routine! She went from sleeping through (7pm-4am) at 3 months old to waking 6-8 times a night and picking up a feed around 12/1am. Was really terrible!! Luckily she is settling back into her old routine, back in her room. Dropped the midnight feed, will stir around 2 or 3, usually from cramps but doesn't wake up and then wakes for a bottle at around 4 or so. It's lovely!!! Plus hubby and I alternate nights, he gets up one night and I do the next. What a winner!! Helps that she's a bottle baby. I have loads of respect for all your BF'ing moms! I think even if I had been able to I probably would have stopped by now. It's so time consuming! Charlotte has a bottle every 4 hours, I don't have to worry about expressing or sore or leaky boobies and anyone can feed her (which the family love). Definitely pro's and con's to both! I will definitely try breastfeed with Nugget No.2 though. even if just for a few months.

Like Maria, mrstl, Charlotte hardly ever naps for longer than 30 minutes at a time during the day. Sometimes she will push to 40/45 minutes and every now and then and hour or so. But generally just cat naps. Seems to work for her so I'm not going to stress unnecesarily! FOMO is a beeeeg problem hahaha!!!

I agree with Happiness on the earring things... don't think there is such a thing as too early or too late. The choice is yours! People will have something to say either way, as I'm sure you are all well aware by now!! SO whatevs! Do what makes you happy and doesn't harm bubs!

Hi Happyness,

Thanks for the earring advice! We'll have a look for a Galaxy. I haven't tried the Hipp oats - will definitely work that into her routine!

I agree, each family has their own dynamics and what works for us will not do for others and vice versa. I wish I could go home during lunch though!!

Maria is a very good sleeper. She sleeps in her camping cot right next to our bed (We tried having her in the bed but then we don't sleep). She wakes at around 12 at night to get her night bottle from her daddy (also in her sleep) and then she'll start stirring at around 5 again, when I'll get up and breastfeed her in the chair because then she's wide awake and we have some fun time together before having to get ready for creche and work.

Maria also suffers from serious FOMO (fear of missing out) during the day. Sometimes she'll get cranky and her eyes will be red rimmed from being so tired during the day. I then have to "make her" sleep. I swaddle her tightly and hold her tight against me, either shushing or humming and rocking her from side to side. It is actually funny because then she'll still complain and the next minute those eyes will start to droop and she'll be out. Sometimes she only takes catnaps (half an hour max) and then be wide awake again. Luckily she makes up for this at night.

She didn't sleep well with the tooth but we found that if we put some Prodol on her gums it is much better. It is heartbreaking to hear those whimpering noises and you know that she's in pain.. Calpol also worked a charm but I'm very hesitant in giving her paracetamol.

Mrstl - yes she does have earings We had it done at 3 months and it was nothing worse than the normal injections they get. There are many debates about earings but at the end of the day its all up to the parents what they think best. Many people say the sooner the better because then they dont know whats going and and dont fiddle with the earings and its also easier to keep them still to clean the ears. Others say that you should wait until they can decide for themselves (which I believe could be very scary for a little girl). Guess its all up to you We had it done at Galaxy & Co, they are trained in baby piercing and do it from as early as 1 month.

Eumi also started on solids around 5 months and her first food was avocado which she enjoyed after a while I introduced bananas which she also liked. At the moment we give her Hipp creamy oats in the morning and then home-made butternut in the afternoon. I also tried the Squeeze food sachets but she does not like it because they are all mainly apple puree based. She is not a big eater but a huge fan of mommys boobies! lol. It also seems that she prefers 'salty' foods to sweet foods, I will definitely try Hipp spaghetti and veggies when she turns 7 months. I still breastfeed aswell. She refuses the bottle but rather waits for me to come home at lunch and after work which is luckily just 4 hours apart. This also helps me because it means that I dont have to worry about expressing.

I also still want to give her biltong. I bought her the Purity teething biscuits which she quite enjoys.

Seems like you have a good routine. We all have to do what works best for us

And how is sleeping going? Eumi sleeps like a dream at night, she feeds about 3 times during the night but she does not wake up. She sleeps in our bed so she just helps herself whenever she feels like it Maybe not the best way but it works well for us at the moment. During the day its a different story, since about 4 months she struggles to fall asleep during the day like she is scared she might miss something lol. Daddy takes her for a drive to get her to fall asleep during the day and so far it has worked well.

Hi Happyness,

Eumarie is so cute!! Does she have earrings in? We were just wondering about that last night - when is the right time to have their ears pierced?

Maria started on solids at around 5 months. We just gave her some butternut at night (2 teaspoons) to get her used to food as she didn't have the spitting out reflex anymore. She is now (turning 7 months tomorrow!!) on some porridge (maize, not rice) in the mornings, 3 teaspoons of pumpkin / carrot in the afternoon and half a jar of the 7 month babyfood (she LOVES the Hipp Spaghetti bolognaise and Purity Lamb, veggies, peaches and apples).

She is a very good eater just lost her appetite completely when the tooth came out.

I am still breastfeeding as well and expressing at work. (not easy!! - I have to sit in a cubicle in the bathroom..)

Her eating schedule is as follows:

05:00 - breastfeeding
08:00 - Porridge at creche
10:00 - bottle breastmilk at creche
12:30 - pumpkin / carrots (veg) at creche & a bottle
15:00 - bottle
17:00 - breastfeeding (more for mommy's sake )
18:00 - Purity / Hipp second foods
19:00 - breastfeeding (falling asleep feed)
00:00 - bottle formula with added iron that Daddy gives her


Most of the time she also has a 4th bottle at chreche inbetween. A bottle is 125ml breastmilk.

We try... I know there are many schools of thought but this is the one that works best for us. We also give her carrot sticks and biltong to chew on (supervised of course) - that helps with the toothies

Hi Mommies!!

So glad to hear from you again

Mrstl - Maria is so cute and sitting by herself so nicely! Also no teeth here yet but they are definitely bothering her and she is just starting to sit on her own

JeanineK - Emily is such a friendly baby, reminds me of my little girl Its sooo difficult to leave your baby to return to work but it helps alot when a family member can look after them. We are also privilaged to have daddy look after Eumari while I am at wok. I returned to work on 1 June.



Are your babies on solids yet? How is it going?

Hi JeanineK,

She is such a little cutie pie!! She looks like a happy and friendly baby!
That is so great, that she can stay with Oupa for now. Maria is also still drooling like a champion - she's wearing her dribbly bibs permanently.

Good luck with the work adjustment - I have been back since May (gave birth on 14 Jan so lekker long maternity leave) and I'm not in the swing of things yet..

Please keep on updating!

Hi All,

Mrstl - congrats on the first tooth!! Time really flies.

I only just got back to work (3 weeks ago), so still getting back into the swing of things.
My angel, Emily is staying by her Oupa during the day, so at least that is a bit easier for me (He also looked after my son till he went to pre-primary at 2 1/2 years)

Still no toothies here, but she has been drooling like crazy for a while now, and chews anything she can get into her mouth!!